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corzblog 3.4b

As usual, lots of work is going on behind the scenes here at the org. The latest package to drop off the end of the production line being corzblog 3.4b, you're looking at it!

Since I last posted about corzblog, this has happened..

3.3 ßeta

* Added the side-links into the preference tabs, with a system to add more link groups later, of required. The link preferences are stored in an ini file, next to the main ini, in inc/data.

* Got the themes working pretty much the way I imagined. We now have a "themes" folder called "sometheme", inside is sometheme.css, which defines the styles, layout and such, and a sometheme.ini, which defines the color schemes to use in the auto-generated CSS. You can keep multiple color schemes inside your ini file, each scheme altering the colors and images for the individual elements.

You can still use a static CSS file, if that's your bag.

* I properly implemented the external password file. In the configuration tab, you can now enter the FULL SERVER LOCATION of a plain text password file, in place of the normal password string, e.g.. /var/www/vhosts/mysite/secret/.ht_password

* I gave all the preference items their own grouped tabindex property, enabling you to <TAB> through all the options in the correct sequence, one tab at a time, with the save at the very end, no mouse required! As well as making preference navigation easier, this should improve accessibility on a wide range of reading devices.

* For our convenience, I added an edit button to all blogs. If you are logged in, a wee pencil icon will appear at the foot of all regular (not perma-linked) blog views. This works for the current blogs, archives, and about-blog page. The edit link is still a quick way to get editing any specific blog, but the button is handier if you are already there.

* There is now a button to add a new link to the sidebar link groups, from directly within the preferences. By the way, to delete a link, simply delete its link text (the first input) and save the prefs.

* Your current preference tab is remembered when you save/load/navigate to the configuration/preferences. This means, for example, if you add a link to the links, you remain on the same tab. I did a little AJAX for this, so when you lock a tab (by clicking it) and leave the prefs, it is open on your return.

* There is now an option to delete blogs (a button will appear in the edit page when you are logged in).

* Added cute delete/move up/move down buttons to the link preferences, so you can re-order your links. These buttons require JavaScript to work properly. HOWEVER, I have (with some effort) enabled them to also function without JavaScript. Note, that when using this non-javascript functionality, the preferences are saved immediately on your change. There is no undo, though your last set of preferences will always be in the backup directory, should you need them.

The delete button works the same way, though for non-JavaScript editing, simply deleting the link text and saving the prefs would be quicker, especially if you plan to delete more than one link.

* Added an option to get to the advanced properties for all links (previously you would need to edit the ini file manually to alter these). If you have JavaScript disabled, the input will be open at all times. With JavaScript enabled, you can toggle it in and out of view by clicking a wee triangle button.

* Did a lot of work on the spell-checker, making it more user-friendly (and developer-friendly). Firstly it is now a proper php class. I also added the capability to add words to the dictionary and ignore words for a session. There are also cute AJAX-driven links for this (which fall-back to regular links if JavaScript is disabled)

By the way, the AJAX is all handled internally, all you need to do (after initializing the spelling class) is..

$spelling->check_ajax();

The spell-checker now provides preferences and methods (functions) for *everything*, from outputting the spell options controls to printing out cute lists and boxes of relevant information, e.g. make_list_of_bad_words().

* I moved a lot of the admin styles and layout around, making things more logical, more ergonomic. I kept going for the "Logout" button when I wanted to save my preferences!

* Fixed a bug where setting the default custom spell-checking list in the prefs was being ignored (it was using the setting in init.php).

3.4 ßeta

* Valid HTML5 output. Oh yeah!

* Various style changes and fixes. In particular, <h1> is now used for the blog titles, creating a better document outline.

* Added a user preference for the RSS feeds time difference (previously you had to hack this into the code) and custom headers (so you can have corzblog insert your site's header into the pages, directly below the opening <body> tag).

* Rolled the last of the images into the theme prefs (no more orange rss buttons in the blue theme!).

* Discontinued support for Internet Explorer versions prior to IE8. No more pngfix!

Handy HTML5 Document Outliner

Dismayed (again) by the lack of valid HTML5 document outlining in Firefox's Web Developer add-on (come on Chris!), I hunting around found this, a "bookmarklet" you slam into your (surely visible) bookmarks toolbar and <click> to get a cute HTML5-capable document outline hovering over your page.